Abstract
We've all heard that "every picture
tells a story" and "one picture is worth a
thousand words:' But the story a picture
tells and the one behind it may be very
different, and that hidden story may be
one only words can tell. Take, for
example, these photographs of military
macaws taken in eastern Mexico by my
naturalist-husband Tom Wood. They tell
much about the appearance and
behavior of these birds. The color and
details of the plumage, the separation of
pairs within the flying flock, and their
way of dealing with the clusters of soapberries
on which they are feeding can
be easily seen. One can also infer that
we are lucky to get so close to one of the
New World's most spectacular psittacines.
What the viewer can't see or
infer is the clash of cultures which made
these photos possible and perhaps
saved a macaw's life.